The face-off.

<h4>Out of Character</h4>Who: http://shadowlack.com/persona.php?id=12(Okkatteiru) Stormwing</a> and http://shadowlack.com/persona.php?id=542Koani Grader</a>.
What: Part II of a (ground-breaking) secret plot.
Where: A private restaurant (Rloa Kumiym) on the island of Ajita.
When: Early afternoon, Dyo Day 46 Year 81379 (5).
Rated: R.
<h4>In Character</h4> The same line kept repeating in Stormwing's head over and over and over.

I should have known.
I should have known.
I should have known.

It had been exactly ten days ago now. The young pendragon had wanted to relax and have a few drinks, so she'd headed to The Watering Hole, a swanky bar in the residential area of Watani. She'd gone alone, and had expected to remain alone, quietly getting drunk on that Friday night. However, an older thill had caught her eye, and she had sat with her, and her three silent counterparts. They'd chatted quite a bit, Storm's tongue getting looser and looser the more she drank. Eventually, the conversation had taken a fateful turn. The older female had mentioned that her mother had been torn into The Nothing, and Winger had stupidly told her new confidante that she personally knew someone involved with The Nothing. Had told her that her friend had even been responsible for a very notorious Kiom's disappearance. If only Stormwing had known that she was talking to Koani Grader, for God's sakes. The Kiom's daughter. She shouldn't have revealed that her comrade had had something to do with The Nothing in the first place, much less spoken her name, and the name of her victim. But Koani had easily manipulated the information out of her, and it had taken very little effort for her to round up Stormwing's friend — the one and only Kakosenas Shriker — and put her behind bars.

I should have known.
ItÂ’s all my fault.

Now, as Stormwing stood outside a posh restaurant in the center of Ajita, she cracked her knuckles as she thought of that fateful night. She'd betrayed Kakos. She'd gotten her best friend locked up in the slammer. That in itself was bad enough. But what caused pure, loathing anger to flare even more brightly in the thill was the way Koani had secretly solicited the information out of her, and then the way she had carried out Kakos' arrest. Zamfir and Karryasa Grader had always been dictators, and it turned out that their daughter was no better. She hadn't officially warned or charged Kakos, hadn't taken the time to hire investigators in order to collect evidence. In fact, she had nothing but Winger's words (goddamnit!) to go on. Yet, though she lacked every official criteria to make an arrest and throw another pendragon in prison, nobody had stood up to her. She'd been able to put Kakos under lockdown without question, and as the chimera rotted in prison, she'd gone about her business.

The way she had handled it all was so unfuriating, and Storm wouldn't settle for it. Nobody, not big businessmen, government officials, council members, nobody had stood up for Kakos' rights. Sure, maybe she'd committed the crime, and others. But she had the right to due process of law. She had the right to find representation. She had so many rights, and they'd all been violated. She was treated worse than a criminal — to Koani, she was fodder. Maybe that's why she had no qualms stripping the charcoal thill of all her rights.

That doesnÂ’t justify it for me, Stormwing thought angrily. She'd stopped cracking her knuckles, and now she was glaring furiously at the restaurant before her. As she had known from the moment she'd heard news of Kakos' arrest, and realized what she'd done, she knew she wouldn't, couldnÂ’t, sit back and do nothing. Hence, she had done much research on Koani Grader. She looked up everything from her appearance to her style to her jewelery-making to her usual hang-outs. She'd even found information on her injuries, and on those blasted spikes on her shoulders. It wasn't exactly difficult to find information on the late Arch Magosai's daughter. Thus, making a vengeful plot hadn't been overly difficult. She knew where Koani could be found. She knew her weaknesses. And the part that made it all come together and seem like a piece of cake was the fact that Stormwing would risk everything to punish this older thill. She had all the knowledge she needed, but it was the deadly conviction that would really enable her to pull it off. She'd lay down her life if that was what it came to.

Now turning, she began to walk towards the entrance of the restaurant. The doors were shaded by an awning, on which the words "Rloa Kumiym" were sewn. It was an extremely high-end place, specializing in rare seafood delicacies. But it wasn't the food she was here for. Nay. Inside, seated at a table, was Koani Grader. It had been slightly more difficult to get a general idea of the female's exact schedule, but a few connections had helped Stormwing pull it off. She knew that Koani was in there. She was with her bodyguards again. Probably having another mental rendezvous with her fellow officials (as she had been at The Watering Hole, Storm later came to realize). Completely, completely unaware.

Reaching the fancily carved doors, Stormwing pushed her way through. Two ushers at the entrance greeted her from behind a podium, and asked her, "Do you have a reservation?" She just shook her head at them. As they looked at her with quizzical expressions, she walked past them, towards the restaurant. As she had known, they didn't raise protests. They were too disconcerted by her confident, stealthy gait.

Repeating to herself once more, IÂ’ll lay down my life if thatÂ’s what it comes to, she swerved towards the reserved section. It was partially hidden by a counter. She maneuvered around it, and her eyes immediately sought out Koani's table. Her back was to the banded pendragon, and she was slightly hunched. Probably listening in. She had no idea whom stood behind her. Her main bodyguard did, though. As he noticed her, his eyes widened in surprise, then his brows almost immediately furrowed. He didn't know what to make of her. And it was his hesitation that gave Storm the upper hand.

"Koani Grader. I'm going to keep this short," Winger spoke to the other female's back. There was a slight pause, as the USR-trained female quickly retrieved one of two pistols from a holster beneath the light jacket she was wearing. She didn't want to use it right way, but she had to be one-up on Koani and her bodyguards. "I've come here to kill you."

 

In the few short seconds it took Koani and her bodyguards to react, Storm calmly racked the slide on her pistol. The striker became partially compressed, and the trigger set with a gentle click. The slide was at battery, so the safe action mechanisms engaged, ensuring that the pistol would not go off until white fingers forcefully squeezed the trigger. An extra safety had been added to her particular model — a five pound weight was necessary in order to fire. This gun literally could not be fired accidentally, and it was with suave and confident assurance that she lifted it at a higher angle and pointed it right between Koani's shoulderblades. While she had hurriedly retrieved the weapon from her holster, her movements were now calculated and smooth. She was not in a hurry, and so she was slow and thoughtful in her gesticulations.

That was, until one of the three males at Koani's table launched to his feet, and drew his own weapon. It was a bit larger than Stormwing's own, and more powerful. It was most likely designed to maim and kill. But its purpose was null here. Certified as a master in sharpshooting, it was the young thill's duty to be quicker and more accurate with her weaponry. Before the arden even had a chance to fully lift his arm and position his pistol, Storm had put the adequate amount of pressure on her model's trigger. A small blaze spat from the muzzle of her gun, and the bullet sliced through the air. In a spray of blood, it impacted with the male's wrist. His gun flew from his grip, and landed several meters away. Meanwhile, he screamed much like a nioti, and crumpled to the floor, cradling his wrist. Blood pooled about him, as Winger had hit her mark: the flowing veins in his wrist.

Now dismissing the desire to blow the smoking muzzle of her gun like they did in old Earthen westerns, Storm's eyes slid to the remaining bodyguards. They had immediately obeyed their mistress' order to stand down, and were staring at her with expressions of mingling hatred and fear. She had gunned down one of their own, and she was threatening the life of their employer. She could see the loathing in their eyes. But she had them beaten, at least for the moment. Koani had seen to that. She had her gun pointed at the older thill again, and they couldn't — weren't allowed, it seemed — to do anything about it.

"Why are you telling them to stand down? I think you're severely underestimating me. I'm an officer in the USR. I have a master's rank in sharpshooting. And I'm all business, as you can probably tell." She motioned towards the now weeping bodyguard on the floor, though only the other guards, and not Koani, could see her at the moment. "You've just put yourself on a platter for me. I could shoot you in the back of the head right now. Though I'm fairly sure you've received plenty of death threats in your day, and this is merely one in the line-up. Am I right? Well, let me just say that I am fearless today. I will sacrifice everything if only to see you severely punished for what you've done to my friend. I have everything to lose, but nothing to lose. I will beat the fucking shit out of you, and I know I'll do hard time, or worse, for it. But that's okay. Just as long as I have my go at you. Which," and she took a step towards the table now. "I will have."

Though she wanted badly to lower her gun, and simply rush at Koani, like a feral animal, she quashed this urge. She slowly slid the aim of her weapon towards the two bodyguards at Koani's flank, and continued to slink towards them. Though screams and shouts had, by now, been echoing around the small restaurant, Storm's focus was intense and unwavering. She moved closer and closer, the hot muzzle of her gun encroaching on the party of three. Finally, she was at Koani's right shoulder. If it hadn't been for those spikes, a white hand would have rested there, and perhaps squeezed until the bones were crushed, so that both of the femme's arms were damaged beyond repair. Instead, Winger's free left hand shot out, knuckles curled, to clout the late Karryasa's daughter in the side of the head. It wouldn't render her unconscious, but it'd give her one hell of a headache.

And this was only the beginning. Though she would have to move swiftly, and always keep her weapon trained on the bodyguards (or else, simply shoot them), she would methodically beat Koani Grader. She'd hit in the face, slam her in the ribs, break her legs. She'd let as much blood as she possibly could. She'd cause as much suffering as she possibly could. Maybe she wouldn't kill her, but she'd nearly butcher her. Make her scream and bleed and sob. 'Cause, as far as Stormwing was concerned, that's exactly what the honorless bitch deserved.

 

As she watched Koani's head snap sideways, the thill's hand racing upwards to cover the stinging flesh, Storm felt a violent lust rising within. It was only fueled more by the other's cool words. The urge to rip and tear and maim surged like a wave within the younger pendragon, but she curbed it as best as she could as she summoned the will to reply. Koani made a point — sort of — but Stormwing had a much better counterpoint, which she'd forcefully drill into the other female's mind.

"Did I not," she hissed, through teeth that had clenched as the injurious desires had had grown within her, "Tell you that I was willing to sacrifice everything? Don't fucking second guess me. You're not exactly in the position where you're allowed to do that." At the utterance of 'that,' Winger brought her right hand around. It gathered a small bit of velocity, which rocked Koani as a white hand, as well as the butt of the pistol, made contact. A lound crack thrummed, and a responding scream from nearby cut off its echoes. "You're completely under my control. How does it feel, Koani Grader? To be the one beneath another? To be dictated, as you have dictated others? Fucking bitch!" She spat, momentarily losing control. She quickly gathered it back again, and resisted an urge to hit the Grader femme upside the head again. "You know as well as I do that I'm not here simply over my friend's arrest. I'm here because you're a ruthless whore of a world leader. You don't even give your fellow pendragons their due process of law. You don't give them rights. You just do as you like. God, you're fucking arrogant. I'm gonna twist you like you twist those beneath you. I will fucking break you."

True to her word, Winger's left hand shot out again. This time, it did not crash down in a clout, but instead grasped Koani's right arm. Deftly, and with practiced movements, she twisted it around, and pinned it against the other's back. Though it was awkward to hold her in this position, using only one hand to lock her wrist against her middle back, Storm was nevertheless confident that Koani would not try to wriggle free of the hold. After all, the sharpshooter's pistol was mere feet from her face, and could easily be turned towards her temple in a last ditch move to splatter her brains against the far wall.

For a long moment, Stormwing held the other female like this, her right hand still angling the pistol towards the two remaining bodyguards. She took a moment to breathe, and try to relax a bit. She had to be swift but deadly, rapid but methodical. Or else things would get messier than she'd intended. Thinking over Koani's words about how the Rloa Kumiym would be surrounded in mere moments, she exerted some extra pressure on her arm, wanting to incite some pain in the elder. She had precious few, so she'd wring this moment, and every ticking second of this encounter, for all it was worth. Twisting and tearing and ripping and kicking and beating and slaying.

 

It was true. Winger had never done anything like this before — and she hoped she'd never feel the need to do anything like this again. She wasn't normally a violent or sociopathic individual. But her thirst for justice was strong. Had always been strong. Her passionate pursuit of fairness had spanned her entire life. Now it was manifesting more fully than it ever had before. This Koani Grader had unfairly jailed Stormwing's friend. She had completely violated every one of Kakos' rights without batting an eyelash. For this crime, she would pay. Storm would illicit justice from this situation. Though it perhaps wasn't her place to balance the equation, she knew nobody else would do it. She'd given the higher-ups their chance to balk at Koani's persecution of Kakosenas Shriker. Yet they hadn't. She was the only one whom would stand up for her friend. And this was how she'd chosen to do it — with gunplay. She wasn't versed in hostage situations, that was true, but, as she'd repeated several times now, she would do whatever it took to wreak vengeance upon the trespasses committed by one Koani Grader.

Doubtlessly, Stormwing would have to pay, either with jailtime, or perhaps even with her life. She expected to visit her wrathful revenge upon Koani, and then go peacefully when the military police showed up outside the restaurant. What she hadnÂ’t expected, was that things wouldn't all go as planned, with Koani in complete submission. Because she was armed, Winger had expected to have the upper hand almost all of the time. But, as it turned out, the Grader thill had some ideas of her own, that would greatly disrupt her younger counterpart's expectations.

The two were still in a deadlock, Storm pinning the older female's arm to her back. Her gun was held steady in her free right hand, pointed towards the two bodyguards. This was her fated flaw. Because she had so little experience in these kind of situations, Winger did not know that the best place for the gun to be aimed was at Koani Grader's temple. Perhaps this mistake was a testament to her true essence of innocence, or maybe it was just what it was: a flaw. One of which the elder took advantage.

Abruptly, the Cadot arden on the floor released a blood-curdling scream, as if he'd been shot again. This noise startled the young Stormwing, and she loosened her grip subconsciously. Taking her chance, Koani spun free of the sharpshooter's grip, flailing her right arm in an undercut that caught Storm sharply in the ribs. The latter was shoved backwards a few feet, though she miraculously managed to maintain her balance. However, though she didn't fall or lose her footing, the jarring hit against her flank had wrenched the gun free from her white fingers. Even as she salvaged equilibrium, it went spinning across the plush carpet, away from the group. As Stormwing stilled, her eyes, as well as Koani's and the two standing bodyguards', were planted on that gun.

Then, swiftly as a whiplash, the banded thill was after it, making a mad dash for her treasured weapon.

 

Even as every muscle sprang in the direction of the revolving weapon, an object — Koani's foot, to be exact — wedged beneath Stormwing's feet. It fouled up her balance, but not her momentum. The result was her momentarily launching forward, teetering, and then skidding forwards onto her belly. It was really a graceless episode, and her ribs impacted on the carpet with a dull thud. The breath was sucked out of the young female, and she winced. But only for a split second. Though the fall had been quite lacking in agility, it had landed her squarely in front of her gun. Recovering now from having the wind knocked out of her, a hand snapped out to retrieve the metallic black pistol. White fingers wrapped around the butt, and relief filled the young Stormwing. The gun was in her possession again.

But it was a very close call. Even as she grasped the weapon, and flipped over in a fashion that could only have been taught to her by top USR officials, Koani's main bodyguard sailed over her. He had been diving for the gun, but she had twisted a second too fast for him. His large mass was carried completely over her, and when his body impacted on the carpet, he rolled away. Obviously trying to dodge any gunfire she might spray in his general direction.

She didn't give a damn about him now, though. Still lying on her back, she brought the weapon around, and positioned it just above her belly. Storm hadn't originally wanted to even use the gun, but only to use it as a scare tactic. But Koani had tripped her, had very nearly cost her the whole plan. Thus, it was with nearly wild abandon that the thill opened fire. She squeezed off three shots towards Koani and her third bodyguard, though she was careful not to aim for a fatal shot. No heads or necks were punctured by her screaming bullets. Nay, the first one was directed just a few inches above Koani's head. The second blasted in the mere centimeters between her arm and the guard's. The third was directed more demonically — right at the bodyguard's chest. It was a dead shot, but Winger wasn't stupid. She knew he'd be wearing a bulletproof vest. She knew he'd barely be bruised by it. The only reason for the third bullet was to put the arden out of action for a few seconds, so that Winger only had the one behind her to worry about, and she could take the proper course of action.

But what was the best course of action? As the vested guard stumbled backwards, landing hard on his rump due to the vicious impact of the bullet, Winger could hear the one behind her rising. No danger was in front of her, so she spun on her heel, and wielded her weapon at the rising main-man. He put his hands up in the defenseless manner known to all, but the banded thill kept her pistol trained on him. Even as she did so, she back pedaled, until she was at Koani's flank. Rougly grabbing the older thill by the arm, Storm drew her backwards, until they were on one side, the three bodyguards in front of them in varying stages of injury. The main one was still quite a ways back, and the wounded one was ducked under a table, trying to cradle his gun with his slick, bloody hands. Lastly, the one she'd just shot was slowly pushing himself to his feet, and turning around to stare at this new situation.

"Looks like I'm winning again," Winger said in an icy voice, now doing what she should have done all along: she shoved the muzzle of her handgun into Koani's temple.

 

Mindless that she was probably burning a scar into Koani's flesh, Stormwing pressed the muzzle hard against the other female's temple. Even harder when her captive dared to speak, downplaying the cause of this battle. Even with a gun to her head, she was an audacious bitch, having to say something witty, and have the last laugh. Well, Storm was tired of all these annoying little twists and turns in her plans. Besides, the military police would be here in mere minutes. Now, after all that squabbling and confusion, she'd do what she'd come here to do.

Carefully swapping her gun from one hand to the other, and back again, Storm unzipped her jacket, shrugged it off, and threw it to the side. Underneath, she was wearing a USR-issued bulletproof vest. There was a matching holster around her waist. Instead of having an arsenal of machine gun rounds, or perhaps a bomb strapped against her chest, the young female had but one more handgun strapped to her waist. This, she easily slid from its cloth sheath. It was the twin of the gun she had been using thus far, shiny and sable, and it gleamed beneath the restaurant's romantic lighting. She held it deftly in her left hand, still holding its brother against Koani's temple. Gingerly, Winger put her arm around Koani's shoulder, not quite touching, lest she sting herself on one of those vicious blades. In this way, she was able to aim the left pistol over the Grader's shoulder, pointed generally at the bodyguards. In the meantime, she could still maintain the hot muzzle of her half-spent pistol against Koani's head.

For a moment, everything was still, both deadly weapons trained on their targets. Then, Stormwing deftly flipped the gun in her right hand. It was no longer pressed against Koani's temple. Instead, a white hand gripped it, then brought it against her skull in a crushing blow. She'd come here for this, for this justifying violence. Already, she had hit that spot twice, and she knew this time would create a real wound. Koani Grader would bleed, and fall, and then Winger could rain down upon her all the fury that was locked up inside.

 

It felt immensely satisfying to hit Koani Grader. To hit the pendragon responsible for Kakosenas' unfair jail sentence. To knock metal against her head and hear the thud and crunch. The violent bloodlust that had risen in Stormwing before, now flared again, as Koani took the hit and crumbled to the floor. It was fired up even moreso by the sight of Koani, a Grader, on her hands and knees before her. Seeing here there made Storm want to hit her — cut her — beat her — maim her — break her. It was only too bad that time was running short. Winger would have to choose just a few moves, and then the party would be over. That was just as well, though. She was not a psychopath by nature, and her need for revenge would be satisfied quickly. Then she'd be completely done with this sack of shit, and the rest of her shady business. Forever.

It happened as if it was in slow motion. Storm crouched down — still distractedly focusing a gun on the bodyguards — and grasped the roots of Koani's hair, jerking her head backwards. Once more, she rained down a blow with her gun. Only this time, it was across the muzzle, in a slashing motion. An angry wish in her hoped that a scar would be left behind. But her mind, and her body, quickly moved on. She let go of the other female's hair, allowing her head to dangle again. Then Winger regained her height, flanking the downed thill. Two seconds pause, and then a foot shot out, kicking her captive harshly in the ribs. This rolled Koani onto her side, where she instinctively curled into a protective fetal position, her spikes rigidly poking out. She was aptly protected, but not from Storm's next and final move. The banded thill got down on her knees. Her right arm was extended, still pointing the gun at the bystanding bodyguards even though her gaze was elsewhere. With her left arm, she gripped her other pistol, made a fist around it, and plunged the entire package right into Koani's stomach. If Winger was unlucky, it would suck the breath out of the older female, and cause a bruise. If she was lucky, some internal damage would be done.

Whatever the result, Koani had officially been "beaten." Shakily getting to her feet, shaking a bit now with all the exertion, Stormwing turned to face the bodyguards. Her hands came together to point both guns at them in tandem, but then she slowly lowered them. She was finished. She'd done what she came here for. With one last loving look at her guns (they would probably be confiscated, at least temporarily), Stormwing then tossed them aside, as she had done with her jacket.

"I came here to kill you. And I hope, though I have left your physical body alive, I have at least killed some part of you. Your hope. Your light. Your optimism. And I hope I've taught you an important lesson. If you fucking mess with the best, you will die like the rest."

 

<h4>Out of Character</h4>I'm gonna wrap this up, so this is my concluding post. Short! The lyrics belong to The Who. Or Limp Bizkit. Depending on whose version you're listening to.
<h4>In Character</h4>It did not take long for a swarm of officers to infiltrate the building, wearing riot gear and holding assault rifles at the ready as they stormed in. Most likely, they had been waiting outside for quite a few moments now, and Koani or one of her bodyguards had just now notified them that it was safe to enter. It didn't matter to Storm how it had gone down, or how it was going to go down from here on out. As three officers surrounded her, wrenching her arms behind her back and cuffing them tightly, she made no protests. Her ears twitched and her eyes flicked around, but otherwise made no display of consciousness. Now that her work was done, she was actually exhausted. Exhausted and apathetic. Even as Koani stung her ankle, and then as the officers led her away, shoving her roughly towards the restaurant's entrance, she did not react. It was all over, and she'd go quietly.

No one knows what itÂ’s like.
To be the bad man.
To be the sad man.
Behind blue eyes.

And no one knows what itÂ’s like.
To be hated.
To be fated.
To telling lonely lies.

No one knows what it's like.
To feel these feelings.
Like I do.
And I blame you!

And no one knows what itÂ’s like.
To be mistreated.
To be defeated.
Behind blue eyes.